The Perkins Internship is a required course for the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and Master of Arts in Ministry (M.A.M.) degrees. The student does ministry in a church or agency setting under the supervision of a lay teaching committee, a mentor pastor, a psychological consultant, and a member of the Intern Program faculty. The internship is designed to help students prepare themselves for faithful leadership in Christian ministry by

acquiring competence and self-confidence in carrying out the work of ministry

growing in awareness and integration of their personal and professional identities and gaining in emotional, spiritual and interpersonal maturity

deepening their understanding of ministry through theological reflection.

M.Div. candidates may choose either a full-time or a part-time internship. The full-time internship requires a minimum of 35 hours of ministry per week in the internship placement. The part-time M.Div. internship requires a minimum of 25 hours a week. All M.A.M. interns do a part-time internship, working a minimum of 20 hours a week in the specialized area of their degree track. All of these minimum work hour requirements include the Internship Seminar. All interns receive a minimum stipend.

M.Div. candidates generally apply for internship in the fall of the academic year in which they will complete the courses recommended in preparation for internship, though the Intern faculty will be glad to talk to them at any time to help them look at options. Many M.Div. students choose to complete all other degree requirements before doing a full-time internship in the final year of their degree program. M.A.M. students who plan to complete their degree program in two years will need to apply for internship during their first Fall term at Perkins. In any case, it is important to plan ahead for internship.

Students apply in the fall of one academic year for an internship to begin the following fall. A member of the Intern faculty will work with each prospective intern to find and develop an internship placement that offers good potential for learning. Students are encouraged to explore placement possibilities with funding to cover the required stipend and to bring these suggestions to the placement conversation. If students are already employed in a church or agency where they wish to do internship, the Intern faculty must approve the proposed placement and supervision.

Perkins internships are nine months long, over the fall and spring terms of one academic year. They begin in mid-August and end in May shortly before Commencement. The single exception to this rule is the CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) internship in which the student does a CPE residency on the schedule dictated by their accredited CPE center, usually four units and 12 months long.

Successful completion of an internship earns nine credit hours (4.5 per term) toward the M.Div. degree or six credit hours (three per term) toward the M.A.M. degree. (M.Div. candidates who enrolled in that degree program before Summer 2014 earn 12 credit hours, six per term.)

Q77. MAY A STUDENT HOLD OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT OR TAKE ADDITIONAL COURSES DURING INTERNSHIP?

The part-time internship is designed for students who wish to take additional courses or hold jobs outside the internship placement. While these options are not prohibited by the Intern Program for full-time interns, these students should be aware that full-time internship is very demanding and that they will need to work with their placement supervisors to make sure the additional responsibilities do not interfere with their ministry or their learning. The intern faculty will help students make the choice between full-time and part-time internship in order to maintain life balance and optimal learning in their particular situations.

Q88. MAY AN AGENCY OR EXTENSION MINISTRY SERVE AS AN INTERNSHIP SETTING?

Yes, if the learning and professional goals of the student are best served in that setting. In some cases an agency placement is linked with a church congregation to ensure the student’s exposure to the full range of ministry.

The Intern Faculty is committed to placing students in internships within their own denomination whenever possible and to working with each student’s denominational polity in a way that satisfies its requirements and maintains the standards of the Intern Program.

The mentor pastor is the professional person who accepts primary supervisory and teaching responsibility for the intern. The mentor pastor commits:

To attend the New Mentor Pastor Institute, a two-day orientation to the Perkins Intern Program held on campus before the internship begins.

To select individuals to serve on the intern’s lay teaching committee (if serving on site at the intern's placement) and to attend the committee orientation and the midpoint and final evaluation meetings.

To attend two daylong Mentor Pastor Colloquies (one per semester) on campus during the internship.

To observe the intern engaged in ministry and to offer constructive mentoring.

To meet with the intern on a regular basis during the internship for 1 to 1-1/2 hour supervisory sessions, many of which will be focused on a theological reflection paper written by the intern about a recent ministry experience.

To participate in the evaluation process and all evaluation conferences.

The lay teaching committee, usually comprising six to eight persons, should reflect the composition of the congregation/agency and be committed to the mutual learning process of the internship. The committee members commit:

To attend the Lay Teaching Committee Orientation led by the intern faculty and to meet with the intern at least once a month throughout the internship.

To support the intern personally, spiritually and professionally through prayer and constructive feedback.

To find opportunities to observe the intern in ministry and to share with the intern honest, constructive opinions about the intern’s work in fulfillment of the required ministry competencies.

To participate in the evaluation process and all evaluation conferences.

A professional staff member is oriented toward the performance of tasks. The intern is engaged in an educational process of professional formation, doing ministry and reflecting upon it in order to become a competent and thoughtful Christian leader.

The full-time intern receives a minimum stipend of $15,000 for a 9-month internship (August to May, so the expense is spread over 2 church budget years). The part-time M.Div. intern receives a minimum stipend of $10,800 for the 9-month internship. The part-time M.A.M. intern receives a minimum stipend of $9,000 for the 9-month internship. Internship stipends are treated as income by the IRS, so taxes should be withheld. Churches and agencies budgeting for an intern should include the employer portion of FICA tax in their estimate. Interns are generally responsible for their own health insurance, though the placement church or agency may wish to assist in providing that benefit if its resources permit.